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Recent debates about globalization have revealed conflicting views about the implications of international trade for the environment. Some fear that individual jurisdictions will compete in a "race to the bottom" while others anticipate a "race to the top." Although scholars have developed formal models to explain these dynamics, there have been few detailed comparative case studies examining the influence of international forces on domestic environmental regulation in practice. This paper seeks to fill that gap through examination of the domestic and international determinants of environmental standards for the pulp and paper industry in five countries - Canada, the United States, Sweden, Australia, and Indonesia. The paper situates domestic institutions, ideas, and interest group politics within a global context. The case studies demonstrate that domestic standards have neither converged at the top nor the bottom, as the unique political and institutional context within each country has limited the impacts of intergovernmental competition. However, to the extent that international forces have influenced those standards, it is the upward pressures that, for the most part, have prevailed via two mechanisms. First, international dissemination of research on environmental impacts of pulp mills via trans-national networks of environmentalists and of information on available control technologies among trans-national bureaucratic networks both created upward pressure in each of the countries studied. While this first mechanism turns on political, rather than economic, globalization, the second represents a unique combination of the two. The trans-national network of environmental groups played a central role in generating consumer demand for "chlorine-free" paper, which in turn created market pressure for improved environmental performance around the world. Environmentalists were able to bypass the state and turn economic globalization to their advantage. However, important caveats concerning the confluence of circumstances that fostered environmentalists’ success in this case are considered in the conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, the European Union has attempted to reinforce its existing nascent capabilities to combat terrorism. The European Council adopted a comprehensive Plan of Action and reached political agreement on a number of important counterterrorism initiatives, including strengthening of Europol and Eurojust; and the introduction of a European Arrest Warrant. This paper provides a critical analysis of these key operational measures and reveals that the EU counterterrorism policy suffers from an implementation deficit, in large part due to the absence of genuine pro-integration thinking in the area of Justice and Home Affairs. A multitude of political, legal, and cultural challenges still need to be overcome in order to make the EU counterterrorism policy less of a paper tiger and more of an effective counterterrorism device. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The right of return is a critical norm in the international human rights and refugee regimes, and the subject of intense political debate, particularly in the context of the beleaguered Middle East peace process. Although most scholarly and legal discussions of the right of return have focused on the complex case of the Palestinian refugees, the concept of the right of return has also figured centrally in many other displacement situations and repatriation processes, from Georgia and Burundi to Iraq and Bosnia. In recent years, a growing number of advocates have argued that properly interpreted, the right of return entails not only the right of the exiled to re-enter their countries of origin, but more specifically the right to return to and reoccupy their original homes and lands. However, an analysis of the diverse contexts in which the right of return has been evoked demonstrates a much broader range of possible interpretations of the meaning, underpinnings and implications of this claim. This paper presents a preliminary typology of interpretations of the right of return, drawing on examples from different repatriation processes. It argues that in light of the diverse interpretations of this concept advanced by refugee communities, as well as by states and international organizations, the right of return should not be reduced to a claim to regain particular pieces of land, but should be understood more broadly, including as a claim for political membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the various uses of the term, sovereignty, in the text of the Federalist Papers. The author looks into the various meanings of sovereignty as employed therein, such as Carl Schmitt's functional definition of the term. He demonstrates that the understandings of sovereignty was not primarily situated with the American people under the Constitution's framework. He also argues that textual sovereignty is problematic under Schmittian analysis.

Scientists and politicians are reaching consensus that elections must be countable independently of the need to trust the computer software in a DRE voting machine or in an optical scanner. Public trust in elections requires a Voter-Verified Paper Ballot (VVPB), printed by a DRE or scanned by a scanner. But producing the VVPBs is not enough; to do any good they must also be audited. A recount of 1% of randomly selected precincts (as performed in some states) is not sufficient to detect fraud with high confidence, except in statewide races. A recount of 5% would be barely adequate, but would be quite expensive. I propose a new statutory framework that will be as affordable as a 1\% recount but more effective than a 5% recount. It requires a mandatory audit of 1% of precincts, and permits any candidate to demand (and pay actual costs for) an audit of up to 7 precincts. The rule of 1%+7 will give high confidence for both large and small elections. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central bankers’ careers are shown to influence inflation outcomes. I present two theories in which careers explain central bank behavior, develop them in a game theoretic model, and test them using a comprehensive new data set of central bankers’ career backgrounds which spans twenty rich democracies and half a century. Career experiences vary considerably over this sample, and not only mould beliefs about appropriate policy (the socialization hypothesis), but also shape career concerns for central bankers who seek career advancement in either the financial sector or government (the career incentives hypothesis). Accordingly, time series cross-section analysis of inflation shows central bankers with financial sector backgrounds preside over lower inflation, while central bankers with bureaucratic experience produce higher inflation. The magnitude of career effects on inflation is on par with standard measures of central bank independence, and interactive models suggest both socialization and incentives contribute to these career effects. The study of central banks in particular and bureaucracy in general should pay greater attention to individual preferences and their interaction with organizations; institutions alone are not enough. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational researchers have long espoused the virtues of writing with regard to student cognitive skills. However, unlike objective tests, the grading of essays is time consuming. Therefore, peer evaluations have become an increasingly common method by which faculty can integrate written assignments without substantially increasing their workload. Although research into the reliability and validity of peer evaluations has found mixed results, most evidence supports the use of peer evaluations. Unfortunately, these studies frequently committed one or more analytical flaws. The present study employed Generalizability Theory to estimate reliability and a paired t-test to assess validity. The results showed peer evaluation was reliable but its validity was questionable. A new method for computing the minimum acceptable reliability was also introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on Internet-related policy and practice issues in the field of global Internet governance. It examines the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), a complex Internet governance-related institution. A distinction has been drawn between Internet governance and e-government and highlights the possible overlaps between e-government work development and Internet governance.

The article offers information on the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association focused on fiscal policy that was held on August 2011 in Washington, D.C. It mentions that taxation is an important determinant of the scope of government. It presents information on the decision-making during fiscal stress related to various states.

The article focuses on the efforts of the international community to address the issue of the growth of nuclear weapons. Topics discussed include increasing acquisition of nuclear weapons by various countries, their nonproliferation strategies, and regional and international stability. Also discussed are weaponization, and nuclear weapons capability.

An excerpt from the book "Altered States: The Globalization of Accountability" by Valerie Sperling is presented.

Corporate capacity is arguably a key determinant of the success or failure of public sector organizations. However, while there is growing evidence on the extent of corporate capacity, few researchers have systematically examined whether it is linked to public service performance. Does a larger corporate centre lead to better or worse performance for the organization as a whole? To answer this question we apply seemingly unrelated regression to measures of effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and equity in English local government. We find that the effect of corporate capacity on performance is nonlinear, following an inverted u-shaped pattern, and that its positive effect turns negative around the mean for effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, and above the mean for equity. The study therefore suggests that senior managers face important trade-offs between organizational goals when deciding on the appropriate level of corporate capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social information, defined as information about what others have done, are doing or will be doing in future, is a powerful motivator of pro-social behaviour. However there is little research on the role of social information on volunteering, where work has instead examined socio-economic and demographic correlates, the role of personal networks and barriers to participation. In this paper we examine the effect of leader and peer endorsement as forms of social information where such endorsement provides a signal to others that these people value the activity and sets an example that others could emulate. The paper presents the results of a field experiment carried out in the autumn of 2013, which examined the effect of different forms of endorsement on volunteering activity amongst 100,000 students in five UK universities. We compare the effect on volunteering rates of politician, celebrity and peer endorsement from named people who have engaged in volunteering compared with a control group that has no such endorsement. We examine outcome measurements of click-throughs to volunteering unit websites, attendance at volunteering training, registration with volunteering units, and results from an all-student survey seven weeks after the original e-mails. We find student endorsements reduce click-throughs. There are treatment effects for endorsement by politicians on subsequent training. We find heterogeneity in treatment effects for registration and training, with both negative and positive effects of celebrity endorsements. Overall, we find some support for the provision of leader and celebrity endorsement, but confirm negative effects for peer endorsement in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A conference paper about the partisanship of independent voters in Japan is presented which was prepared for presentation at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The paper discusses topics including the decision-making of independents, a comparison of the determinants of vote swings before and after electoral reform, and the electoral dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party during 1955-1993.

A conference paper about momentary presidential leadership strategy is presented. It discusses a general theory of successful presidential leadership. It measures probable presidential influence on public opinion using a random sample of presidential policy statements from the pages of the "Public Papers of the President" from past U.S. presidents.

This paper explores civic illiteracy and the problem of democratic leadership -- what Alexis de Tocqueville described as the "courtier spirit" of American politicians. According to Tocqueville, the logic and mores of democratic society make it increasingly difficult to criticize or resist the decisions and views of a mass populace. Today, in the field of democratic theory, scholars of participatory democracy tend to celebrate the capacities of a properly educated citizenry, while criticizing liberalism and its tendency to view the masses as a threat in need of containment. Rather than viewing mass publics as either threats or victims, this paper approaches citizens as subjects who would benefit from the concept of agonistic leadership. Using the writings of Plato and H.L. Mencken, this project seeks to more fully understand the educatory possibilities (and political pitfalls) of outspoken criticism and critique of the demos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a theoretical model to examine the conditions under which Islamic political identity can transform its perceptions of interests. In tackling this question, the paper builds upon Huntington?s theory of political instability in modernizing states, modifying it to explain both conflict and absence of conflict on the global level. It is asserted in the paper that this institutionalist model is more explanatory than his culturalist ?clash of civilizations? paradigm that assumes identity as rigid and essentialist categories. The Turkish case of transformation of political Islam indicates that identity transformation is indeed possible under given conditions. Globalization by creating sufficient conditions for the mobilization of social actors and providing avenues of opportunity for them, serves as the framework in which such a transformation takes place. Social actors see globalization as an avenue of opportunity when their mobilization is matched by participatory institutions and frameworks both domestically and internationally. The Turkish system allows rapidly mobilizing, religiously observant members of society sufficient participation in the domestic system while transnational institutions, particularly European integration process, present them a framework of participation at the global level. This double participation process provides a learning process for political Islamic identity in Turkey, transforming its perceptions of interests and shifting its confrontational discourse to a globalist vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the extent to which the political attitudes of Catholics are influenced by the messages they receive from their parish priests. I use data from the Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life (which contains survey responses from pastors and more than 2,000 Catholic parishioners from 35 Catholic parishes from around the United States) to test a series of hypotheses related to clergy influence. The data indicate that liberal pastors have a significant, liberalizing influence on their parishioners? political ideology and opinions on a number of important sociopolitical issues, but that conservative pastors appear not to wield the same degree of influence. The findings of this paper shed new light on Catholic political attitudes and behavior, and provide new insight into the conditions under which religious leaders can be expected to exercise political influence over their flocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To what extent American cities are evolving towards a model in which their government is (or is not) adapting its structure to their growing Mexican immigrant population? What are the main factors for such transformation to take place? What is the role of the Mexican government in the process? This paper addresses these questions from two different perspectives, one local, and one transnational. From a local perspective, the paper addresses the government structure of the 14 most populated cities by Mexican immigrants. From a transnational perspective, the questions are addressed through the consideration of three stances: The use and acceptance of the Mexican Consular ID (Matrícula Consular) in an urban setting; the outreach activities of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad; and the motivations of the Mexican state governments in contacting directly U.S. local authorities regarding immigrant issues. Research for this paper suggests that some governments of American cities already count with (or have started a) structural transformation to address directly their immigrants? issues. The most important factors that lead to the creation of these offices are a strong and growing presence of foreign born population, high levels of community-based organization among immigrants, and the interaction of these organizations with some level of local government, like the Office of the Mayor or the City Council. Regarding the role of the Mexican government in the process, the interaction between different levels of Mexican government and local governments in the United States leads to the empowerment of the host society as a whole and, in particular, to the empowerment of the immigrant community. An important conclusion of this work is that the interaction between local and transnational politics explains different levels of empowerment of the home community in the host society. From a theoretical standpoint, this paper emphasizes the importance of incorporating research work on transnational politics into the mainstream research body of urban politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International discourses regarding women?s identities and equality are picked up by many local actors, including states, sub-national administrations, political parties, and women?s associations. The region of Galicia, which comprises the northwestern portion of Spain, is a particularly intriguing case of the manifestation of international ideas regarding equality. In this paper, I chart the effects of international phenomena and local variables on two kinds of women?s associations in the region: the Galician nationalist feminists and the rural women?s associations of Galicia. The purpose of the paper is twofold: 1) to establish the unique nature of subnational activisms yet tie them to international themes and 2) to show how the local embodiment of equality politics can create diversity in women?s civil society ? even civil society in a small place. The Galician activists, while being similarly influenced by regional culture and international discourses, are perhaps movements unto themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores Nietzsche?s thinking on revenge. Perhaps no thinker has proven more seductive to those seeking to reintroduce emotion and revenge back into law than Friedrich Nietzsche. Friedrich Nietzsche is often named as a proponent of revenge and the reintroduction of emotion into the rationality of law. Exhibit A is Nietzsche?s embrace of strength in the Genealogy of Morals, and his condemnation of the impotence of slave morality that calls its inability for revenge an unwillingness to revenge. At the same time, however, Nietzsche was a virulent and consistent critic of revenge as a weak and reactive feeling that lay at the foundation of slave morality. As Nietzsche writes in the section of Thus Spoke Zarathustra entitled, On the Tarantulas: ?For that man be redeemed from revenge, that is for me the bridge to the highest hope, and a rainbow after long storms.? Revenge, Nietzsche writes, is the driving force of slave morality, the rage of the weak against that which they cannot control. While it has long since been clear that Nietzsche had something important to say about revenge, the practice of free citation from throughout Nietzsche?s work has hindered serious inquiry into Nietzsche?s thinking about the relation between revenge and justice. Going beyond mere citation of Nietzsche to suit a particular argument, this paper raises the question of the relation between revenge and justice by taking seriously Nietzsche?s aphorism that ?gratitude [is] good revenge.? In doing so, it asks how thinking about revenge can deepen our understanding of both the importance and the danger that anger, resentment, and passion pose to the quest for justice. At the same time, it explores Nietzsche?s scattered comments in the Genealogy of Morals, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and in his Notebooks on the connection between gratitude, mercy, and love as an alternative to the vengeful insistence on justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the reform of social contracts in East Asia from 1980-2000. In contrast to Central Europe and Latin America, East Asian transitions to democracy--where they occurred--took place during periods of high growth and robust public finances. The absence of substantial fiscal constraints permitted an expansion of social policy commitments and limited opportunities and incentives for retrenchment. The paper considers four democracies--Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines--and two party-dominant systems, Malaysia and Singapore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the adoption of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) by Australian and UK legislators, with a view toward how this may affect styles of representation and roles of the MPs in the two polities. In particular we provide an overall picture of the scope of current activity in each country in terms of website adoption, and whether this is accelerating over time. In addition we profile the basic functions that legislators are using their websites for and what differences, if any, emerge in approach across the two systems. Finally, we examine factors at the individual, organisational and systemic level that might help explain the variance in rates and levels of uptake of the new technology. In addressing these issues we build on the extant literature that has examined the individual and organisational factors that have influenced candidates and parties adoption of ICTs in the UK and Australia as well as a range of other countries. In addition, the paper comparatively extends to Australia our recent benchmarking work on British MPs’ use of the Internet, which helps illuminate the macro and institutional-level factors influencing the diffusion of ICTs among elected representatives. We are thus able to examine larger questions about the extent to which national traits are determinative of political and particularly representational uses of the Web, over and above micro- and meso-level factors as well as of course, the imperatives of the technology itself. Finally, we can begin to start to look more broadly at what the new ICTs can offer to traditional models of representation in rapidly changing advanced industrial democracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The half-century Burmese/Myanmar Civil War is likely the world?s longest-running violent conflict. It has left much of the country devastated, the majority of the people destitute, and turned a resource-rich and strategically located nation into a pariah state. Over thirty insurgent groups have fought the central Burman-dominated government for the right to secede, for autonomy, and/or a share of power. As in many internal conflicts, rebel armies within Burma have traditionally formed along ethnic lines, reflecting the country?s significant national diversity and complexity. Yet, contrary to popular perception, these groups have not been fighting alone. Instead, they have exhibited alliance-building behavior in three distinct shifts: coalition development, 1960-76; democratization and ethnic-group consolidation, 1988-92; and alternative-governance development, 1998-present. This paper seeks to explain why three key ethnic minority resistance groups within Burma?the Karen, Shan, and Wa?have joined various coalition alliances over the past 15 years with other ethnic minority groups, pro-democracy Burmans, and groups outside Burma. The paper provides an overview of three theories being applied to this case, a synopsis of Burma?s ethnic and political history so as to contextualize the conflict, an analysis of alliance formation within Burma, and an examination of the political and military strategies of the Shan, Wa and Karen. The three theories, all rooted in rational choice, are: Russell Hardin?s Collective Action as Self-Interest Theory, which examines the compound motives behind identity and group formation; Fearson and Laitin?s Cooperation Equilibrium Theory, which hypothesizes that security dilemmas can be minimized through spiral and in-group policing equilibriums; and Charles King?s Benefits of War Theory, which credits material and power incentives for creating an equilibrium of war that extends conflicts to the point of intractability. Two of these, Hardin?s and King?s, provide explanatory power for understanding coalition formation by ethnic insurgency groups and the entrenchment of internal conflicts. It is difficult to say if the practical experience that the coalitions and individual ethnic groups are gaining by adopting democratic norms and institutions will make state building easier or more difficult, if and when the Burmese junta relinquishes power. They certainly will have more experience with democratic ideals and institutions, as well as more knowledge about each other. Yet, it also may be true, as King implies, that these groups will have entrenched interests and positions that make melding multiple administrations and governance types troublesome at best. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I discuss J. S. Mill’s views on slavery and emancipation. In the first half of the paper, I show that his opposition to slavery rests primarily on a utilitarian analysis of its effects on the characters of the members of slaveholding society. In the second half, I examine Mill’s views on how the emancipation of slaves ought to proceed. While critical of his failure to mention the need to compensate freed slaves, I present a qualified defense of his claim that the former slave owners have a right to compensation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that out of the ?service learning? movement of the 1980s, a new form of scholarship is emerging known as the ?scholarship of engagement.? Engaged scholarship has two core components which are not fully captured by the concept of service learning: first, it includes other scholarly functions beyond teaching, including research; and second, it focuses on genuinely reciprocal collaboration with communities. This paper defines the scholarship of engagement, creates a taxonomy five forms of engaged scholarship, and documents practices associated with this movement. Informed by a problem-driven, pluralistic approach to engaged scholarship, this taxonomy suggests that the new forms of engaged scholarship each have important contributions to the civic renewal of American higher education, and together make up an exciting and growing movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines public opinion towards the restriction or expansion of immigration in Canada, using data from the 2000 Canadian Election Study (CES). The paper is largely modeled on Citrin, et al (1997)’s "Public Opinion Towards Immigration Reform: The Role of Economic Motivations," although we make a methodological improvement that increases both the confidence of our results and our understanding of what drives not only opposition to immigration, but also for more immigration. In addition, we find that the variables explaining restrictionist opinions in the United States do not hold cross-nationally. Our methodological improvement is simple. Rather than using an ordered probit, we choose to use a multinomial logit. Because our three choices are exhaustive, we do not have to consider the irrelevance of independent alternatives. Thus, we can harness the principal advantage of the multinomial logit; namely, the independent measurement of the effect of each variable on each outcome. The model we use includes approximately 1200 respondents. Our initial results find that both personal and national economic evaluations are the principal factors causing opposition to immigration. This last significant result contradicts the American findings of Citrin et al. according to which personal economic circumstances play little role in opinion formation. In addition to challenging their main finding in regards to restriction, we generate a number of new findings on the factors influencing support for increased immigration. Most importantly, we demonstrate that these factors are not entirely symmetrical with the factors influencing support for decrease in immigration levels. Indeed, we find that national economic evaluations have much effect on support for decreased immigration, whereas it does not bear on support for increased immigration. Therefore our results demonstrate the value of employing a multinomial logit instead of an ordered probit in understanding public opinion towards immigration expansion or restriction. Moreover, the differences in significance of predictor variables between support for increase and decrease demonstrates that there can be various simultaneous processes at work in opinion formation on a single issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most literature on national identity stresses the enduring, distinctive aspects of such identities. Nowhere is this tendency more pronounced than in the case of studies of Japanese identity. This paper questions the literature?s tendency to portray Japanese identity as a function of longstanding, homegrown Japanese ideas and values. Through a study of the evolution of images printed on Japanese banknotes, and of the political processes behind that evolution, the paper shows Japanese state elites consciously following international models of identity content. Japanese banknote iconography shifted dramatically in the early 1980s in the direction of conformity with that of most advanced countries? currencies, and the new yen banknotes issued in 2004 continue in that direction. The state has been the main protagonist in this story, but for a full accounting of the magnitude and pace of iconographic change it is necessary to unpack the ?black box? of the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last decade, a number of scholarly studies have demonstrated a strong relationship between levels of mass partisan support during the pre-primary period for presidential nomination aspirants and success in fundraising, attracting media attention, and gathering endorsements. Researchers have also found a strong correlation between this indicator and candidate attrition once the primaries and caucuses commence, as well as ultimately winning or losing the nomination itself. However little work has been conducted that examines public opinion in the ?invisible primary? or ?exhibition season.? To address this gap in the literature, this paper examines pre-primary, Gallup poll results for open presidential nomination contests from 1976-2004. Using a series of simple and pooled regression models, this paper examines how different factors influence measures of mass opinion during the exhibition season. As expected, there are significant positive relationship between prior nomination campaign experience, measures of financial viability and television coverage, on one hand, and levels of mass public support on the other. While a large home state constituency is a strong initial advantage for Republican hopefuls, holding national office is more important for Democrats. In general, Democratic national Gallup polls exhibit considerable instability from quarter to quarter while Republican national Gallup polls are highly stable. These findings should help strengthen our understanding of what is driving popular support during the exhibition season, the relationship between the numerous activities among the various nomination elites and the partisan public, and how the nomination process itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the membership, activities, interaction and variance in policy impact of three distinct groups of policy networks, namely epistemic communities, advocacy coalitions and elite transnational networks, operating within and between the agricultural policy environments of the US and EC, as well as at the multilateral level, during the GATT Uruguay Round and WTO Doha Development Agenda. This paper reaches three conclusions: 1) Using the case of agricultural liberalisation, a successful shift in policy requires new ideas, accepted changes in beliefs, and political leadership/management. During the Uruguay Round negotiations, three specific types of policy networks either emerged or increased their activity and contributed significantly to the successful negotiation of the Agreement on Agriculture. These policy networks have been active in the current Doha Round negotiations, although with somewhat altered membership. 2) The contribution and impact of these three types of policy networks varies according to the specific stage of the negotiations due to the changing policy needs and objectives of policy-makers and negotiators. 3) The policy networks interacted in specific ways. Epistemic communities required legitimisation of their ideas by advocacy coalitions. Advocacy coalitions used the new ideas developed by pro-reform epistemic communities in developing and supporting their policy proposals. Elite transnational networks were used by advocacy coalitions, and policy entrepreneurs acting within them, as a means of finding compromise, showing political will, and breaking impasses in the negotiations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main argument of this paper is that variation in state level institutions and local government administrative capacity are key factors in explaining the distribution of non-entitlement Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) in states. More specifically, we argue that local government capacity is positively associated with access to non-entitlement CDBGs, and decentralized state-level allocation institutions enhance access to these intergovernmental block grants as well. This paper provides a comparative institutional analysis of the allocation of non-entitlement Community Development Block Grants across four states: Texas, California, Kentucky, and Utah. We use probit, Poisson, and Tobit models to determine whether access to non-entitlement CDBGs is a function of variance in local government capacity and state-level institutional variation. We find that from 1999-2001, state institutions influence the odds of receiving a grant and the number of grants, but not the funding levels in dollars. These findings raise important questions about whether state administration of the non-entitlement CDBG program prevents local governments most in need of federal assistance from receiving federal assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the question of whether the process of constitution-making merits consideration as an independent explanatory variable and proposes a framework for analyzing it. It understands constitution-making as consisting of three separate and recognizable phases: 1) Pre-constituent (or preparatory) phase; 2) the constituent (or decision-making) phase; and the 3) post-constituent (or implementation) phase. It conceives constitution-making as a series of interlocking processes which are sequentially connected via a series of mechanisms with each partial process having an impact on the subsequent phase, and examines the key issues in each stage. The argument places particular emphasis on coalitional politics, and claims that constitutions should be understood as the complex and often unexpected outcome of bargaining among political coalitions, the product of multiple designers with diverse values, beliefs and interests, cross cutting each other in multiple attempts at partial design. The paper uses the Andean cases as empirical bases for its conceptual framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of all the issues that democratic, trade union, and left wing political parties have tried to address in capitalist societies, the most difficult to challenge has been the issue of capital investment, from private investment to even their own pensions. Democratic and popular forces have been quite successful in establishing welfare states, forming trade unions, imposing regulatory controls on market activity, and achieving modest degrees of worker participation (at least in the most advanced industrialized democracies). Yet they have been generally incapable of obtaining any influence ? let alone control ? over the location of investment in these societies. This paper will examine the possibilities of raising questions of social democratic influence over private and pension investment in Western Europe. By examining the historic contours of the 20th century debates in Germany and Sweden, the two countries where the debate went the farthest, I hope to generate hypotheses as to whether this policy option might represent a viable tactic by the contemporary democratic left to both the pension and democratic deficit issues in Western Europe generally, and the EU specifically. Germany and Sweden have been chosen as critical case studies because their experiences can likely offer useful guidance about the concrete limits to utility of this approach. This paper is divided into three sections. First, it analyzes the issue of investment and private control and shows how difficult it has been for democratic societies to challenge private interests on this core issue. Despite the growing predominance of collective funds (e.g. private pensions and public social insurance funds), democratic societies have never been able to ?democratize? investment decisions. The general arguments raised against such radical proposals by traditional controllers of investment have been that they too directly challenge ?managerial autonomy? or, alternatively, such radical steps are unnecessary because the free choice of individuals to decide where to invest is the essence of individualistic shareholder democracy. Second, the paper looks at the origins of German and Swedish attempts to democratize investment via two different paths and two different kinds of political institutions. It then analyzes their evolution through the 1970s and 1980s and suggests why they ultimately were unsuccessful in achieving their respective goals. Third, the paper concludes with some speculative consideration ? and perhaps more questions than answers ? on the relationship between democracy and investment in societies, such as those in Western Europe and/or the EU, that are both democratic and capitalist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the tension between raison d?état and morality that exists in US government humanitarian initiatives. It asks whether US humanitarian assistance overseas is truly based on needs alone through a detailed examination of one US agency dedicated to providing lifesaving emergency relief in situations of natural or man-made disaster ? the US Agency for International Development?s (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). The paper concludes that the majority of OFDA interventions are indeed driven by basic humanitarian need, though humanitarian interventions in conflict situations may serve as a replacement for a broader political engagement that addresses the conflict giving rise to the need for the humanitarian operation. However, in a small but significant number of instances, humanitarian aid, including assistance disbursed through OFDA, is strongly associated with US military intervention, with additional fiscal resources being mobilized through OFDA to respond to humanitarian needs during US military operations. In these situations (Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq) US humanitarian aid has been mobilized to respond to the humanitarian consequences of conflicts where the U.S. itself is a belligerent. This trend has been accelerated in US military interventions post 9/11. Finally, difficulties in the operationalization of the ?needs alone? concept mean that measuring the extent to which US humanitarian assistance, even in countries where the US military is not deployed, is genuinely targeted based on comparative needs remains a difficult challenge, and is an area requiring further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2002 and 2003 in the run-up to the war in Iraq, the U.S. and Europe experienced the most jarring deterioration in the transatlantic partnership since the Suez crisis of 1956. When attempting to diagnose the causes for the recent spate of ill will, the temptation is to look to the current inhabitants of elective office. For those who followed disputes over landmines, climate change, the International Criminal Court and other issues, it is clear problems go beyond George W. Bush, Jacques Chirac, and Gerhard Schroeder. The first section of the paper, through illustrative counter-factuals (What if Al Gore won the election? What if Europe had been bombed on September 11th?), examines the extent to which present difficulties are a product of contingent developments. The second section examines the deeper reasons for the divide. A number of authors have identified deeper sources by looking to differences in underlying material conditions and cultural values. However, these explanations typically are far too deterministic. Neither the end of the Cold War nor material differences in military capabilities determine a country?s choice of foreign policy approaches. Similarly, while values differences between the U.S. and Europe may be real, these should not obscure the commonalities of culture and interest that remain strong, particularly in light of vast differences between the democratic West and the authoritarian rest of the world. Section three makes the case that materialist and cultural arguments miss or minimize the the ways in which political distance itself may be the main cause of difficulties in the post-Cold War era. Political distance between governing elites is ultimately derived from differences in ?domestic? decision-making processes shape which interests and values exercise influence in political life. These internal institutions establish constraints on European and American decision-makers in international fora that may exacerbate differences between the two. The paper concludes by emphasizing that recent difficulties are as much a product of choice as they are driven by structural constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The privatization of natural monopolies in post-communist states has been extremely slow and difficult. There are multiple, interrelated problems across different sectors blocking full price liberalization and greater privatization. After discussing the progress of utility reforms within the energy sector in five post-communist states, this paper identifies problems of reform in transitional economies, especially problems of affordability. The main purpose of this paper is to assess different policies associated with energy affordability for poor households that are consistent with sector restructuring. The paper then explores two methodologies for evaluating programs to assist poor households with increasing energy costs and concludes with recommendations for new strategies for energy reform in transitioning states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea that the United States is going through a Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) rose from a marginal place in the realm of U.S. military thinking in the 1980s to a central role in studies of the future of warfare by the mid-1990s. However, the theory that the United States is in the process of a so-called Revolution in Military Affairs has fallen under intense scrutiny, as a wave of scholars have criticized the so-called "RMA" vision. This paper argues that the so-called RMA vision is misunderstood by critics and more relevant than ever for American military strategy. By viewing RMAs in their proper historical context, as a combination of both technological and, more importantly in many instances, organizational change, a more complete picture is revealed. The paper uses historical writings on the early-modern European RMA and studies of firm performance by business innovation scholars to create a more theoretically defensible definition of RMAs. The implications of this new analytical framework for studying developments in the American military over the last decade follow, along with some conclusions regarding the upcoming RMAs and the path for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the establishment of the Copenhagen criteria for membership in 1993 the European Community has entered a complex process of guiding Eastern European countries on their way back to Europe. The substance of this process consisted in institutional models and behavioral patterns delivery, which through the mechanics of conditionality, timing and bargaining was expected to produce substantial effects on national governance systems . This paper aims to present this experiment as a distinct governance mode in the EU based on conditionality about institutional performance and political timing. It further argues that as a top down governance process accession affects domestic policy making and institutional building efforts, but is limited to formal institutional choices. Actual institutional performance in candidate countries is predefined by previous and existing formal and informal institutional structures, political actor?s interests and reform capacity. The paper further proposes a more governance oriented approach in researching the substance of accession process and its outcomes in a transformational context. It combines vertical and horizontal analytical tools for discovering at one hand the substance of accession conditionality as a distinct governance structure. On the other hand it takes a closer look at two economic policy sectors for examining the actual functioning of the accession conditionality at domestic level in a given accession country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the question of the role of religious and moral conceptions in democratic decision-making. John Rawls? principle of public reason holds that we should exclude controversial religious or philosophical views from the grounds of public decision-making. Public reason is often invoked by proponents of same-sex marriage to undercut conservative claims that public policy should not encourage or promote allegedly sinful homosexual conduct. However, if it is simply a more abstract statement of antiperfectionist liberal neutrality, as many critics and proponents have affirmed, the principle of public reason may undermine the case for same-sex marriage, as against the alternative of granting equal legal recognition and support to the diverse range of personal relationships people form, since liberal neutrality excludes appeals not just to rival religious doctrines, but to all claims about the intrinsic value of rival conceptions of the good life. The paper argues that antiperfectionist liberal neutrality is not necessarily a form of public reason, and that the scope of public reason is most plausibly set in a way that does not undercut the case for (same-sex) marriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-five years of economic reforms have substantially transformed the social, economic and political landscapes of China. The uniqueness of China?s transformations lies in a gradual merging of capitalist principles with socialist principles, despite communism remaining the ultimate goal of the Chinese Communist Party. China has maintained a fast economic development in the past 25 years but with a growing income distribution gap between the rich and the poor. The ruling elite is seeking to redress the inequality problem, while they are still upholding the policy of creating haves as the party?s strategy to reach common prosperity in the future. This paper tries to show that the ruling elite has upheld this capitalistic development strategy because their institutional behavior is constrained by the institutional environments. Analysis of the ruling elite?s institutionalizing the protection of the private property suggests that once Chinese people was given back freedom to pursue and keep wealth, social, economic and political transformations will follow to accommodate the economic freedom. The paper concludes with a suggestion that China?s transition towards advanced economic development and a democratic polity will combine features of capitalism and socialism, which will be an evolutionary one, more stable but relatively longer than a ?big bang?. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1960’s, the majority of researchers studying political behavior in the United States seem content to either ignore the sociological basis of citizen choice or treat social location as a secondary, less important determinant of political choice. The bulk of the work that has been done concerning the sociological basis of citizen choice focuses on the role that membership in demographic group categories plays in shaping political choices. The findings from these sorts of studies has not only reinforced the perception that social location is a secondary, less important determinant of political choice, but also led some to conclude that modern citizens have become largely independent of groups and social influence (Dalton and Wattenberg, 1993:212-3). Although few would agree that this asocial model of political choice accurately represents reality for most Americans, it is nevertheless striking how little in the way of empirical evidence has been compiled to challenge it. The purpose of this paper is to make use of three unique surveys conducted during the 1984, 1992, and 1996 presidential campaigns to take a closer look at the sociological basis of modern citizen choice, specifically the role of social networks on political choice. By shifting the focus away from the sorts of social groups typically studied in political science (i.e., demographic groups) toward social networks, I seek to determine whether modern choice is still strongly linked to social interaction. It is important to note, however, that simply discovering a link between social networks and political choice would not, in and of itself, present a strong challenge to the asocial model of citizen choice. To do so, it is necessary to demonstrate that social influence occurs beyond the boundaries of close relationships (e.g., family, close friends) and takes place in a significant way among less intimate contacts like nonrelatives and casual acquaintances. The paper is divided into two main sections. In the first, I seek to determine what sort of role social networks play in shaping modern candidate choice. Do networks exert a significant and direct impact on candidate choice, even after controlling for key variables like partisanship and issue position? In the second, I look to see whether social influence regarding partisanship and issue preferences is restricted to intimate friends and acquaintances. Does the most important social influence occur within intimate friendships, or do more casual acquaintances exert a significant impact on choice as well? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the ways local governments accommodate Latinos in the new Latino destinations, as identified by Pew Hispanic Center and Brookings Institute, throughout the United States. The paper begins by examining the context of incorporation research, focusing on some of the broader individual issues such as the emergence of transnational lifestyles, the importance of social and economic networks and the impact of immigration on the lives of the children of immigrants. This is followed by a description of the research methods for collecting information about new Latino community local governments. The data regarding formal incorporation of Latinos in elected and appointed positions is then presented. The discussion of findings then centers on the various accommodation approaches embraced by these local governments. The paper concludes with the recognition that while formal incorporation of Latinos into the political process is limited, efforts by local governments demonstrate the desire, for the most part, to accommodate their nuevos residentes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to capture the behavior of agents (states), and the effects of international systemic structure, and the relationship of each to the other in a systemic, dynamic theory of international politics. The ``nested politics’’ model describes how three layers of political authority---individual autonomy nested within state hierarchy nested within international anarchy---constitute an engine for both changes in state behavior and changes in the distributions that constitute the structure of the international system. This paper discusses the model and examines its logical implications for existing explanations of Great Power behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why have the Russian media failed to support grass-roots political initiatives? In particular, the powerful medium of state television has sided continually with rulers rather than popular movements. This paper examines television content over several Russian election campaigns to track the development of the post-Soviet media as a tool of the state rather than a voice for the masses. The paper focuses on content analysis of campaign news, including the 2003 Duma elections, to analyze the lack of balance and objectivity in the Russian news process. At the same time, the study shows that there is still significant variation in content between nightly news on the prime state-run and commercial channels. How valuable are these differences? Are Russian viewers able to get enough information to make wise vote choices? Does commercial television, albeit now operating in the shadow of the Kremlin, provide a lifeline for media freedom in an increasingly oppressive system? Data from surveys and focus groups suggest that while viewers perceive the differences in coverage ? as well as the fact that they are not being given access to full information ? many have come to prefer orderly, authoritative media over the messier, more democratic approach to news. A cross-national review of media performance across a decade of elections in Russia and four other post-Soviet states shows that the pervasive problems of a lack of a professional media have presented a persistent obstacle to democratization [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores why Mussolini abruptly turned toward racism in the Fall of 1938, after having for sixteen years followed a path that could only, by contemporary standards, be considered philo-Semitic. Unlike conventional approaches that stress Italy’s growing relation with Nazi Germany, the paper stresses internally-generated reasons for the racist turn of 1938 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious politics in Turkey and Iran have strikingly similar courses in the last decade. In both countries, a group of religious politicians who used to have a radical understanding of Islam were transformed into ardent supporters of democracy and enjoyed popular support. Both in Turkey and Iran, the religious politics merge with democratic values despite the fact that religious beliefs and institutional configurations are very different in those countries. Turkey is a secular regime, whereas Islamist ideology is in power in Iran. Why and how do oppositional religious politics evolve in a similar manner in these opposing regimes? This is the ?puzzle?, this paper aims to make intelligible. This paper argues that the rise of Muslim Democrats in these two countries is the combined result of evolution of the mindset of some religious politicians and the dynamics of electoral competition in semi-authoritarian settings. It suggests an alternative to the claims that purely culturalist and historical explanations of contemporary political outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary debates over genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are polarized between proponents claiming they seek to end world hunger and opponents insisting that "Frankenfoods" will destroy the ecosystem. While these debates focus on the virtues and vices of scientists and corporations, they conspicuously ignore the significant involvement of the American state in spurring the development of GMOs. This paper explores the U.S. government?s role in laying a market foundation for the agricultural biotechnology industry. It concentrates on intellectual property rights as the primary policy tool deployed by policymakers to foster growth in the biotechnology sector. In situating the historical context in which molecular biology?s commercial potential became evident, this paper reveals the origins of this contemporary debate. I argue the government?s intervention into this economic sector, during the early 1970s, should be seen as part of a broad-based industrial strategy to enhance U.S. competitiveness in world food markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes a case for reconfiguring the analytical lens through which we compare and explain governments? public policy choices. Through an examination of the politics of welfare-state reform, it aims to demonstrate that a temporal lens of analysis can reshape both the policy puzzles inviting scholarly attention and the causal arguments best suited to unraveling them. The political analysis of recent welfare-state reforms has been largely structured along distributive lines, focused on explaining retrenchment. Yet, politicians seeking to control social spending have faced choices not only about who should pay the costs of adjustment, but also about when those costs should be imposed. Moreover, those governments who imposed the heaviest losses on program beneficiaries were often not those able to enact the most dramatic and costly investments in long-term fiscal sustainability. The paper contends that, in explaining reform choices as intertemporal tradeoffs, we need to employ a causal logic distinct from that used to explain retrenchment. To illustrate the argument, the paper reanalyzes a paired comparison of pension reforms from Paul Pierson?s Dismantling the Welfare State? Reagan, Thatcher, and the Politics of Retrenchment. Viewed through a temporal lens, Pierson?s puzzle of policy reform is reversed. Britain -- the case of radical retrenchment -- largely delayed the costs of population aging, while the United States -- the case of incremental cutbacks -- adopted massive, costly investments in long-term sustainability. These outcomes were shaped by institutional context, but in ways contrary to the structural effects that scholars of distributive politics have usually identified. While concentrated policy authority led politicians to address long-term policy problems through distributive means, dispersed veto power generated distributive stalemate that led politicians to invest in long-range outcomes at short-run cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]